Word Best Practices

Headings

One Title per Document (ERROR) - COMPLETE

  • Owner: din
  • Description: There should only be a single title in a given document.
  • Violation: This rule will be violated if there are two or more lines of text with the 'Title' format.
  • Detection: If two or more lines of text with the 'Title' format are detected, an error will be reported.
  • Fixes: The user will be prompted to remove/replace the 'Title' formatting from all lines of text save the instance in which it first appears.
  • Word Best Practices Implementation

The Title Should Appear Before Any Other Body of Text (WARNING) - COMPLETE

  • Owner: din
  • Description: The title of a document should be the first portion of text in a given document.
  • Violation: This rule will be violated if any text without a 'Title' format appears before any text with a 'Title' format.
  • Detection: If a body of text is found that precedes the title, a warning will be reported.
  • Fixes: The user will be prompted to either remove the offending body of text or to place it elsewhere in the document.
  • Word Best Practices Implementation

Proper Heading Ordering (ERROR) - COMPLETE

  • Owner: anastas2
  • Description: Headings should be implemented in consecutive, ascending order. That is, the ordering of headings should be a heading 1 first, then a heading 2, then a heading 3, and so on; a heading 3 should not be used immediately after a heading 1.
  • Violation: This rule will be violated if the headings do not appear in consecutive, ascending order.
  • Detection: If a heading (i+n), where n > 1, is found after a heading i and headings (i+1), (i+2), …, (i+(n-1)) are not found, in ascending order, between them, an error will be reported.
  • Fixes: The user will be prompted to switch out the offending headings with the proper (i.e. in order) ones.
  • Word Best Practices Implementation

Use of Headings Rather Than Bold, Italicized, or Underlined Text (ERROR) - COMPLETE

  • Owner: clouser2
  • Description: A line of bold, italicized, or underlined text should not be used as a replacement for a header.
  • Violation: This rule will be violated if bold, italicized, or underlined text is used in place of a header.
  • Detection: If a single 'paragraph' consists only of a single line of bold, italicized, or underlined text, a warning will be reported.
  • Fixes: The user will be prompted to replace the offending text with the proper header.
  • Word Best Practices Implementation

No Headings Within a Body of Text (Cancelled)

  • Owner: alanlynn
  • Description: A header, which will alter the size and shape of the text to which it is applied, should not be used as a means of emphasizing (i.e. to underline, make bold, or italicize) a piece of text that is within a larger body of text.
  • Violation: This rule will be violated if the user applies a 'Header' format to a line of text that is part of a larger body of text.
  • Detection: If a header is not its own 'paragraph' and error will be reported.
  • Fixes: The user will be prompted to remove the 'Header' format from the offending line of text; it will be instead suggested that that line of text be made bold, italicized, or underlined.
  • Word Best Practices Implementation

Use an Appropriate Amount of Headings (Cancelled)

  • Owner: anastas2
  • Description: For a given type of document (e.g. novel, outline, technical report, etc.), there is an associated acceptable header to paragraph ratio.
  • Violation: —This rule will be violated if, for the type of document on which the user is working, the header to paragraph ratio lies outside of a predefined range of acceptable ratios.
  • Detection: For each type of document, an acceptable range of header to paragraph ratios will be defined. If the number of headers used in a document divided by the number of paragraphs in the document lies outside of this predifined range, a warning will be reported.
  • Fixes: The user will be made aware of the abundance/scarcity of headers in his document and will then be prompted to alter his document accordingly.
  • Word Best Practices Implementation

Images/Charts

No Images/Charts within Tables (CANCELLED)

  • Owner: anastas2
  • Description: Images/charts should not be placed in tables.
  • Violation: This rule will be violated if an image/chart is placed within a table.
  • Detection: If an image/chart is found within a table, an error will be reported.
  • Fixes: The user will be prompted to remove the offending image/chart from the table.
  • Word Best Practices Implementation

Group Images/Charts When Applicable (CANCELLED FOR WORD)

  • Onwer: clouser2
  • Description: If there are two or more images/charts that are meant to be viewed as a single, larger unit, then they should be grouped.
  • Violation: This rule will be violated if the user is arranging several individual images/charts to be viewed as a single, larger image/chart and those individual images are not grouped.
  • Detection: If two images/charts exist in the same 'paragraph' and no text exist between them, a warning will be reported.
  • Fixes: The user will be prompted to group the offending set of images/charts.
  • Word Best Practices Implementation

Apply Alternative Text (ERROR) - COMPLETE

  • Owner: din
  • Description: Every image/chart in a document should have an 'alternative text' applied. In this way, those viewers who have graphics disabled will be able to see a description of the image/chart.
  • Violation: This rule will be violated if a given image/chart lacks appropriate alternate text.
  • Detection: The default alternative text of an image/chart is either the file name of that image or nothing. Thus, if the alternative text of a given image/chart ends in a file extension associated with image files (i.e. .bmp, .jpeg, etc.) or if that image has no alternative text, a warning will be reported.
  • Fixes: The user will be prompted to add alternative text to the offending image/chart.
  • Word Best Practices Implementation

Supply a Text Equivalent Table for Charts (ERROR) - COMPLETE

  • Owner: anastas2/clouser2
  • Description: Because charts are information-rich images, it is important that the text equivalent of a chart be presented completely and in an organized manner.
  • Violation: This rule will be violated if a given chart lacks a text-equivalent table
  • Detection: If a chart is found to have no alternative text, an error will be reported. It is not possible for the user to direclty add alternative text to a chart, meaning that is a chart has alternative text (which we must have added), it also will have a text-equivalent table.
  • Fixes: Add a text-equivalent table and also a bookmark connecting the chart and the table

Avoid 'Empty' Objects (CANCELLED FOR WORD)

  • Owner: alanlynn
  • Description: Text Boxes, SmartArt, and Inserted Objects can each be 'empty' (it is impossible for any of the other image/chart-types to be made 'Empty'). That is, it is possible each of these three image/chart-types to be present in a document and yet, if no content is present, be invisible to the user.
  • Violation: This rule will be violated if a given image/chart is 'empty' (i.e. exists in a document but is invisible to the user).
  • Detection:
    • Text Boxes: If a given Text box contains no text, a warning will be reported.
    • SmartArt: Unknown
    • Inserted Objects: Unknown
  • Fixes:
    • Text Boxes: The user will be prompted to either place text within the 'empty' Text Box or to simply delete it.
    • SmartArt: Unknown
    • Inserted Objects: Unknown
  • Word Best Practices Implementation

Other

Lists (Bullets and numbering) (CANCELLED)

  • Owner: alanlynn
  • Description: Microsoft Word's bullets and numbering feature should be used.
  • Violation: Bullets or numbering is created with text.
  • Detection: If several lines start with the same bullet character or with similarly formatted numbering, an error is reported.
  • Fixes: Remove typed in bullets/numbering and change to similar style bullet/number formatting.
  • Word Best Practices Implementation
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